Interesting post from Jan Barger - I am sure she is right about the way
there is a tendency to ignore the overall picture when assessing weight
loss. Just as at any time in the bf process, weight is only one part of the
situation.

Does anyone have any views on the notion I have heard voiced by more than
one expert over the years - that birthweight is in any case an arbitrary
figure?  Given that babies can gain half a pound per week in utero in the
last four weeks of pregnancy,  and the actual birthdate can be affected by
so many circumstances - natural and 'un-natural' - just how great a
benchmark is it?

There are also plenty of anecdotal accounts of labour ward scales being
innacurate - and when we're talking in ounces and half ounces and taking it
seriously, this matters. I have also come across the occasional case where
conversion from metric to imperial has been incorrect - which messes up
subsequent calculations.

So - what do you think? How much should we rely on birthweight as a benchmark?

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK